Baku Café is an amazing Azeri restaurant in City Walk 2. Beautifully decorated with traditional hand-painted plates and colourful kilims on exposed brick walls, offset by dark wood parquet flooring, its interior is nothing less than stunning…in a rustic-chic sort of way. The restaurant is laid out over two floors both of which have expansive verandas, ideal at this time of year. I’ve sat up and out on both the occasions I’ve visited, once for dinner and the other for breakfast.
If you like the food of the Caucasus, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia you will probably also like Azeri food. I can think of no restaurant outside Azerbaijan which represents the rich and diverse Azeri cuisine (as well as its warm hospitality) better than Baku Café. From their tangy salads to their delicious kababs and delightful sturgeon fish delicacies, everything is as near perfect as I’ve have had.
Try their salad of Baku tomatoes with red onion, the ingredients of which are flown in from Azerbaijan. In fact, all their ingredients are flown in daily. And it makes a HUGE difference, the Baku tomatoes explode taste with every bite. Other standouts for me were their Lula Kabab, Caspian Sturgeon Shish Kebab and the Veal with Chestnuts and Plums. All were superb; the veal was a touch tart for my more placid, savoury-oriented taste buds but superb, nonetheless.
Breakfast at Baku Café is an experience which should not be missed. It’s not as extravagant as some of the breakfast buffets or as diverse as some of the Turkish propositions such as Kaftan or Emirgan Sutis. But what it lacks in variety, it makes up for in quality. Here again everything (except the bread which is freshly baked on site) is imported from Azerbaijan – vegetables, cheeses, cream, honey, jam – everything. Try the mildly sweet curd pancakes – they’re gorgeous. I found the artfully presented Fresh Herb Kuku (a fresh herb frittata) as close to home cooked as possible, but it was the Shakshuka which really hit my culinary G. I literally had to be dragged away from the plate.
Shakshuka
The breakfast table 
Fresh Herb Kuku
Much of the Baku Café experience has to do with the ambiance and amazing service. It really wouldn’t be the same if Baku Café’s wait staff were not able to emulate the genuinely warm hospitality Azeris extend to all their guests. But they exceeded my expectations.
Service is excellent – tamam. I have no reservations whatsoever in wholeheartedly recommending Baku Café. It is an exceptional restaurant which offers diners a unique culinary experience and is, without a doubt, well worth a detour.
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companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts
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